36 - Cold Ecstasy (2023) [Hi-Res]

COLD ECSTASY is the new album by Dennis Huddleston AKA 36. Drifting within the gravity of the 90's UK hardcore sphere of influence, 36 transposes the sound of the past into a devastatingly emotional vision of the future.

"I started going down the rabbit hole with my mini-album 'Weaponised Serenity' back in 2021. While that album was a kind of raw deconstruction of the 90s Jungle/dnb sound, this new one expands the zone of influence to include the entirety of music which was (and still is) important to me from this era. Especially on the happier side of the hardcore spectrum, which I feel was unfairly maligned at the time. I have no qualms whatsoever about admitting how much I enjoyed this music. The vibes are undeniable and I have nothing but respect for the producers who created them back in the day"

The album has an interesting chemistry of seemingly opposite emotions, working in harmony to create a unique and deeply moving sound. From the halcyon-drenched optimism of the vocals, to the often overwhelming melancholy present in the instrumentals, it's an album which is difficult to describe in words, but makes perfect sense when heard. It's a sound that 36 has always aspired to achieve with his music, but the glow has never been quite as radiant as it is on this record.

"In the 90s, I wasn't old enough to visit events like Ark or Dreamscape, but I used to buy all the tape packs from my local record store afterwards. It might seem strange as a young kid to enjoy music which was essentially so in the moment and tied so closely with drugs, but I just loved the sound and the vibes of the night still came through strong on my tape deck. I have these kind of ghost memories, as if experiencing that era through proxy. I wasn't there, never got to experience the sweat and ecstasy of the moment live, but simply hearing the music, the crowd, the MC's on tape... That was enough for me. Decades later, even these tapes have long since left my possession, so my memories of these records have drifted and distorted further, into a kind of ambient haze. What were once hyper-positive anthems are now broken echoes and the naive optimism has long since turned into a delicate, yearning melancholy. Maybe it was always like that?"

In a time when nightclub venues are closing faster than they are opening, and political indifference has let an important part of UK culture fade away, COLD ECSTASY is a statement of intent. When the dancefloor turns cold and the vibes of the night have long-since dissipated into the ether of time (or worse, converted into a new IKEA showroom), then what remains of the energy that was once there? Hopefully you'll find some of it here, flickering in the darkness.